El Paso-Gridley gets past Tremont … again

Titans defeat Turks for second time in less than a week; Fieldcrest heads to regional with win

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Pontiac Daily Leader - Pontiac, IL

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Posted Feb. 1, 2013 at 1:23 AM
Updated Feb 1, 2013 at 1:25 AM

Posted Feb. 1, 2013 at 1:23 AM
Updated Feb 1, 2013 at 1:25 AM

El Paso

As if last Saturday’s McLean County Tournament championship game wasn’t tough enough, El Paso-Gridley had to turn around and get past Tremont for a second time in order to secure the Heart of Illinois Conference girls’ basketball championship.

The Titans did just that Thursday night by defeating the Turks 60-54 for their 36 consecutive HOIC regular-season victory.

Like Saturday’s triumph in the league tourney final, this victory was earned. Unlike the firs win, EPG relied on a number of scorers to get the job done.

Rebekah Ehresman led the scoring again for the Titans (24-1, 12-0) with 19 points. But two other teammates reached double figures and two others were within a basket of getting there.

Chelsea Kessinger and Codee Schlipf each had 10 points, Jenna Souhrada added 9 and Mattie Buchanan chipped in 8 points for the Titans, who may have to get past Tremont a third time next week in the regional hosted by EPG. Darian DeVary and Michelle Bigger added 2 points apiece.

The Turks hung closer in this game than at the Shirk Center. Tremont battled the Titans to a 19-19 tie after the first quarter and matched EPG with 11 points in the second period for a 30-30 halftime tie.

The Turks grabbed a 36-35 lead in the third period but El Paso-Gridley grabbed the lead back for good and began to pull away. The Titans led 53-44 after an Ehresman 3-pointer, and then 58-49 after a Souhrada triple with 3:01 remaining in the game.